


Lighter Than Air

by Jellyfisher2



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, stuck in an airport at 2am!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-07-24
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:19:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1416532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellyfisher2/pseuds/Jellyfisher2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasori absolutely hated every time he had to fly somewhere. So when bed weather keeps his flight grounded, he's not exactly happy. Just when he's about to hit his breaking point, a certain blond catching his attention and brings him back down to Earth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. At the Airport

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! This is my first story posted here, so I'm pretty excited!
> 
> This is also going to be posted on my tumblr (same as my username) and fanfiction account (also same name) encase you prefer a different format.

Flying was nothing more than a giant hassle. Traveling at all was nothing more than a giant hassle, and Sasori hated every last second he was forced to go somewhere that wasn't inside his apartment. He hated the packing, the checking of what he packing, the forgetting things,  _the dealing with_   _all the people_ , and most of all, he absolutely despised it when things didn't go according to plan.

"Dumb plane, being delayed  _again_. It's one in the damn morning; just put me on another stupid flight already." He mumbled while rubbing his face tiredly. He had been stuck in the airport since around six the previous morning. He had no idea what they were thinking or why the flight wasn't rescheduled. After his third complaint, of that hour, the attendant told him, in not so many nice words, to sit down and just wait it out. It was the freak whether keeping all the planes grounded and there was nothing they could do about it. To which he loudly disagreed but was quieted when threatened to be "escorted" out.

"I have to be there by seven  _today_ and the flight is  _four fucking hours, come on you_ _ **dumb plane**_ _."_ He complained under his breath. He could still make it there on time, but it would be cutting it closer than he would like.

"Got somewhere to be, hmm?" The person next to him asked, startling him. He hadn't expected anyone to be listening to him. Or be sitting near him, really. He assumed after the scene he caused no one would sit anywhere close to him, which would have been a small treat to the antisocial type of person he was.

Sasori turned slightly to look at the stranger. They were leaning against the back of an airport bench with one leg crossed over the other. They had blond hair tied up in a messy bun and bright blue eyes that held a certain spark, one which Sasori couldn't quite explain, but was intrigued about none the less.

"No, of course not, I enjoy hanging out at airport lounges at two in the morning while I talk to myself." He replied bitterly, hoping the response was off-putting enough to discourage any follow-up questions. He was not in the mood to deal with anyone, even if they were attractive.

' _What? No. They are not attractive. You don't think about others, remember? You're just sleep deprived and don't know what you're thinking, calm down.'_ He quickly thought to himself.

However, the stranger was not scared off from the rather rude remark. In fact, they laughed at it. He was going to have to try harder. "You're kinda funny."

"Wasn't trying to be." He barked in hopes that this time the stranger would think he was rude and not joking and, hopefully, get up to leave. Sasori wanted to sulk in his irritation alone, not with some random person mocking him.

"That's the best kind of funny." He said with a smirk that made Sasori huffed in frustration, crossed his arms over his chest, and turned himself away from the stranger, much like a child would when throwing a temper tantrum. They chuckled at the display. "What are you, five, hmm?"

" _Twenty-_ five, thank you very much." He corrected with enough attitude to fill the airport. This kid just couldn't take the hint that Sasori wanted to be alone. They seemed determined to stay right where they were, and Sasori was just, if not more, determined to make them leave. It couldn't be that hard, anyways. He could just pull a few tricks from his sleeve and have them running in no time.

"Oh, my mistake." They said with an equal amount of attitude, irking Sasori. Just who did this kid think they were? "Mine name's Deidara, use male pronouns please, hmm." He held out his hand for Sasori to shake. He ignored it.

So being rube wasn't working. Maybe he had to go for the cold a distant angle to get Deidara- _'Strange name.'_ \- to go away. "Sasori, male."

"You're just a bundle full of joy, aren't ya?" Deidara said playfully, leaning over to bump their shoulders together. Sasori responded by giving an icy glare to said shoulder. Deidara noted and chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm not bursting with excitement to be here. I'm not even supposed to be here right now. I should be in a five-star hotel sleeping right now, not sitting on a crappy three dollar bench."

"Come on now. There's no way the benches cost that much." Sasori gave a humorless laugh. That was a mistake. "Hey would you look at that, you do have a sense of humor."

Okay, cold and distant was out. Maybe being blunt with this hot guy-no,  _Deidara_ , would get him to leave him alone. "Fuck off."

"Oh no, there it went." Deidara made a gesture with his hands to illustrate something flying away. "Probably never to be seen again." He laughed a bit at his own joke and went back to his previous position of leaning on the bench; only he switched the leg that was crossed. Not that Sasori was paying any attention to small details like that.

 _'What the hell is with this kid? Why was he still here? Why is he dealing with the shit I'm giving him? And why can he counter_ all _of it?'_ He had too many questions rattling in his head. He quieted them so he could think properly. Being blunt clearly didn't work. Maybe a snarky comment about his appearance would get the message across.  _'I could be overthinking this. I'm tired. This doesn't seem like too good of an idea.'_ "Tch, with a bun that messy are you really in a position to be making jokes about other people?" Oh well. It wasn't like Sasori was ever going to see this guy ever again.

"With a dye job that obvious are you really in a position to criticize other people's hair, hmm?" Deidara smirked.

 _'Damn it, that was a good one. I'd be more impressed if it was true.'_ He thought.

"Excuse you, my hair is all natural."

"Give me a break, dude. Your hair is the same color as the candy apple I had for lunch today. There's no possible way that's natural."

"D'you wanna bet?"

Deidara's cheeks suddenly dusted pink. For or a second Sasori didn't understand why, until he was asked, "Are you asking me to blow you, hmm?"

Now it was Sasori's cheeks to turn pink, whether he wanted them to or not. "What? No, that's not what I meant, you pervert. I-"

He waved his hands franticly, and Sasori noted that he was wearing a pair of fingerless gloves that had mouths on the palm. He'd have to ask about it later.  _'Wait, later?'_  There was no way he wasn't planning on seeing this kidlater. As soon as the plane took off, he was never going to see Deidara ever again. A part deep,  _deep_ inside him was almost…sad at the thought.

"How am I the perv? You're the one who asked!"

"That's not what I meant-"

"Then what did you mean?" Deidara interrupted. "Were you going to just whip it out right here?"

"Will you stop thinking about my dick?"

"One of us has to, hmm."

For the first time in a long time, Sasori was stunned into silence. If it he wasn't sleep deprived at the moment he probably would have had the perfect comeback, but all he could muster was a simple, "Are you hitting on me?"

"To be honest, no. I've heard my roommate make that joke so many times that I guess it became instinct." The feeling in the pit of his stomach was most definitely not disappointment. He didn't care if Deidara was interested in him, not one bit. He didn't  _get_  attracted or even so much as attached to anyone. Especially not to someone he just met, even if Deidara was overly attractive with his cute smile, handsome face, and- god damnit. Sasori needed to change the subject before his thoughts went too far.

"You have a roommate?"

For a second, Sasori saw Deidara's eyes flash with confused surprise that Sasori was asking about him. "Yeah. College isn't cheap so I share an apartment with three other guys. We're all old friends, so it's only a little awkward, hmm."

"You're in college? What's your major?" Sasori asked, knowing that he was in too deep now. There was no way he'd be able to get Deidara away from him now. He might as well buckle down and have a conversation. It wasn't going kill him, but if Deidara got too annoying it might kill him.

Deidara's eyes widened and lit up. If Sasori was more of a romantic, he would say that his eyes were shining like fireworks. It was clear that he enjoyed what he was studying. "I'm an art major, hmm!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Really?"

"Yeah! But don't give me the whole 'you're wasting your life' or 'get a real job' spiel because I've heard it all before." Deidara said bitterly, and Sasori understood that feeling far too well.

"I wasn't planning to. I've heard the same thing a million times. Unfortunately, I still hear that to this day."

"You're an artist!?" Deidara looked as excited as someone could at two in the morning.

Sasori smirked, a confident gleam in his eyes. His art was his pride and joy. He could talk about it all day. "That's why I'm flying. I'm going to my last art show of the year. I get the rest of the year off, but seeing as its December I'm going to have to start working on commissions next month." Not that he was complaining in any way. He loved what he was doing. It was one of the only thinks that brought him solace in this horrible world.

"Dude, that's really cool! I hope that one day I can show my art off to a crowd of people. I'll show them the definition of true beauty!"

"Keep your voice down." Sasori snapped without any real venom. The last thing he wanted was everybody looking over at him.

"My apologies,  _Danna._ " His voiced was bathed in sarcasm.

"Danna?" Sasori questioned, legitimately confused at the sudden nickname.

"It's kinda like a pet name you use for someone you consider your master in a subject. Since you're already an artist, you're my master, hmm." He gave Sasori a second to let the words sink in before adding, "Plus, you seem like the kind of guy to get off on stuff like power play and all that jazz."

The comment caught Sasori off guard, but he quickly recovered. "I knew you were hitting on me." It no real bite though, as a sudden wave of fatigue hit him. He was accustomed to staying up late, but two-something, probably three by now, in the morning was pushing it farther than he would like.

The blond shrugged, a smug grin plastered on his face. "What can I say? I like what I see. Why, does it make you uncomfortable? I'll stop if it is, hmm."

Sasori opened his mouth to reply. Only before he said anything, he was forced into a jaw-splitting yawn. His eyes stung with tired tears that were subtly wiped away.

"You tired?" Deidara asked as if he didn't already know.

He harshly rubbed his eyes while replying. "I've been up for about twenty-three hours."

"Straight?" Hold on, why did Deidara sound so shocked?

"Yeah, I spent all morning packing and making phone calls, and the rest of the time here. I haven't had time for a nap."

"You didn't take a nap here? For as long we've been stuck?" Was Sasori hearing concern in his voice? Why on earth would he be concerned? Sasori had literally just met him. There was no way Deidara could have developed some sort of attachment to him. Just like there was  _no way_  that Sasori had developed an attachment to him. That's what he kept telling himself.

Sasori shrugged, eyes beginning to droop ever so slightly. "I don't trust anyone enough to leave me and my stuff alone. Or that someone will wake me up if the plane is boarding. Besides, I'll just sleep on the plane."

"Just do it now." At the look Sasori gave him, he continued. "I'll watch your stuff for you and wake you up."

Deidara was definitely up to something, but what Sasori wasn't sure. "But why? I just met you twenty minutes ago."

"Because it's the nice thing to do?" He said as if he wasn't sure what Sasori was asking.

 _'He's talking to me like I'm stupid. I'm not the stupid one, he is. What would he gain from helping a complete stranger?'_ Sasori thought. "But I don't know you."

"So? You seriously need a nap and I've already had one." Sasori's suspicious glare was interrupted by another yawn. "Dude, stop fighting with me and just take a nap. I'm not gonna steal your stuff or murder you. There are too many witnesses around."

Sasori wanted to argue more. He barely knew this kid. Why should he trust him at all? He didn't trust others; it was stupid and pointless to do so. Others wither and die off, leaving their promises unfulfilled. Staying away from people and only focusing on his art was the only way to get by in the world.

He was really over thinking this, he was tired so it was expected. He needed to take a step back and look at this logically. An attractive guy was offering to make sure he wouldn't miss his flight while he got some much-needed sleep. It made sense on paper and there was no reason he shouldn't.

His thoughts continued to drift farther and farther away, eventually dragging his consciousness with them. His tense body slowly relaxed against the bench. The last thing he heard before falling sleep was Deidara's chuckle and his voice saying, "Sleep tight, Danna."


	2. On the Plane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on waiting until SasoDei Day to post this, but it's been long enough. So, yeah. This took longer than expected, sorry about that. I've had some personal things happen and yeah.
> 
> Remainder that this is also posted on my tumblr (transasori) and fanfiction (jellyfisher2), just encase you prefer a different format! Enjoy~!

Rumbling chatter buzzed in a low hum, creating a cocoon of unintelligible noise around his body. His brain was too muddy to focus long enough to make sense of any of it. He felt encased in dull, fuzzy warmth, which bright him to the conclusion that he was in the mental state of not quite being awake but not sleeping at the same time. A feeling he knew extensively and rather enjoyed.

He was about to let himself drift back into the blissful emptiness of sleep when a hand patted his mid-back, waking him enough to hear, "Hey Danna, wake up. The plane's boarding so it's time to get your sleepy ass up and stop drooling all over me, hmm."

He groaned at Deidara, not at all ready to get up or even move. He was so out of it that he didn't even register the drooling comment.

"Danna please, I don't know your seat number and the attending's calling out numbers."

He groaned louder while trying to cuddle further into whatever was warm next to him. "First class, seat 17."He mumbled into soft fabric.

"Well then get up because they just called 15 right now." Deidara said semi-urgently while his arm gently stroked Sasori's back. When the same arm shook his shoulder, it violently hit Sasori the position he was in. He was sitting sideways on the airport bench with both of his legs tucked in-between Deidara's, his left hand clung to the front of a dark blue jacket, the other hand was sandwiched between their bodies. Deidara's arm was snug in the crook between Sasori's neck and shoulder. Sasori's head had settled itself above his hand, directly against Deidara's chest. If he listened hard enough he could hear a calm, steady heartbeat, as opposed to his own rabidly increasing heart.

Sasori jerked himself away from the blond so fast he worried he had given himself whiplash. He wiped the drool off his chin and stubbornly refused to look anywhere in the vicinity of Deidara. Uncontrollable warmth burned on his cheeks, marking the only physical sign of his embarrassment.

"Danna, you okay?" Deidara reached out to him, but Sasori quickly stood up, effectively cutting him off.

"I have to go." He grabbed his carry-on bag and hurried to the boarding area. He needed to get  _very_  faraway from Deidara  _very_  quickly.

_What the hell just happened?_

_'Doesn't matter.'_ He told himself.  _'I was asleep and not in control of the situation, so it_ doesn't matter. _'_ But no matter how many times he repeated that to himself, he couldn't get rid of the weird feeling that had settled in his gut.

* * *

He settled into his window seat, letting out a sigh of content. After the unforgiving benches of the airport, the first class seats were a godsend. Granted, they still weren't the best seats ever invited, but at least they had cushioning.

Forgetting himself in his thoughts, Sasori stared blankly at the seat in front of him. He couldn't stop thinking about the earlier encounter with the collage kid, Deidara. He tried his best not to, he really did, but no matter what he tried to focus on, it all came back to the blond. And that pissed him off. He prided himself on not getting attached or hung up on people. Only twice in his entire life had he  _ever_  felt anything more than apathy towards someone, and both times he was kicked in the metaphorical emotion-nards. He decided to just give up on being close to people. It was never worth it in the end. So  _how_  did some random collage kid manage to crawl under his skin?

He sighed and went to lean his seat back, hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep, but someone tapped his shoulder. He looked over to see a flight attendant smiling bright at him. Sasori wondered how they could manage any sort of positive energy this early in the morning.

"Excuse me sir, but we need the seat next to you. Can you please move your bag?" They said with a kind forced politeness only a flight attendant could manage.

"Aren't there other open seats?" He whined, not wanting to bother with the hassle of moving. He was too tired for it.

They shook their head. "No sir. That's the only empty seat."

_'There's absolutely no fucking way. How could that be even remotely possible that everyone showed up for a flight and stay for as long as we've been here?'_

"On the entire plane?" He asked, still unwilling to move. He knew he would eventually have to move, but he was still willing to try to weasel out of it.  _'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.'_

"On the entire plane." They confirmed, making Sasori nearly groan out loud.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

The flight attendant went to reply, annoyance with him obviously growing, but they were cut off by an unmistakable voice. "Just move the dumb bag already, Danna. I would like to get this plane flying sometime this year, hmm."

Sasori sat in shock while the flight attendant didn't miss a beat, "Oh! You know each other. This is much simpler. I'm not supposed to touch people's bags without permission, but there's no rules saying you can't."

Deidara grinned at them. "Cool. Thank you for finding me a seat, and don't worry. I can handle Mr. Cranky Pants from here."

They chuckled and strolled towards the front of the plane. Deidara grabbed his bag- he almost stopped him, but his brain had yet to catch up to current events- put it in the overhead compartments, and sat in the chair. He studied the blonde's cheery face for a minute before finally saying, "Really? Mr. Cranky Pants?"

"What? It suits you." Deidara replied, crossing his legs, which absolutely did  _not_ draw Sasori's attention to his legs, even if they did look objectively shapely.

"It does not." He retorted, already feeling the dread of having to spend the next four hours with this kid starting to build.

His eyes flicked up to catch Deidara smirking. "Whatever you say,  _cranky pants_." He japed, clearly having fun with annoying him.  _'Damn brat.'_

Sasori was close to telling him something along the lines of "go shove a stick up your ass" but ultimately decided that threats didn't help his case. Instead, he looked out the side window, choosing to ignore the way his stomach twisted around itself. There was  _no_  reason he should be feeling anything close to nervousness. It was idiotic and he was above such trivial emotions. He had to crush this emotion now before it became a bigger problem.

"So tell me, Danna, is it a habit of yours to cuddle and run?" Deidara inquired. "Or am I a special case, hmm?"

"Shut up." He snapped. "What happened back at the airport is the  _last_  thing I want to think about." He had planned on blocking it from his memory forever, leaving it to fester and rot in the recesses of his mind. That sounded grim and a little pathetic, he'll admit.

"No, seriously, I wanna know."

"Why does it matter?"

"So I can know if I have a chance or not."

"Chance at what, exactly?" Sasori had an idea of what he meant but felt he needed confirmation.

"I'll answer that if you answer mine." Deidara countered.

' _Damnit.'_ He cursed. This kid did not want to make this easy for him. Although, answering him wouldn't really be that big of a deal. If he was honest then maybe the subject would blow over and they could move on.

"Alright then, no. It's not a habit. In fact, I've  _never_ done that and never plan to again." He said matter-of-factly.

Deidara's eyes widened with surprise. How could that be shocking? "Huh."

"Now, shut up about it. It was an accident and if I had been it awake it wouldn't have happened."

"Oh." For a second, Deidara didn't look as bright. Sasori's eyes must've been playing tricks on him because he saw disappointment flash on his face. But as soon as he saw it, it was gone. Deidara was back to his earlier self, leaving no traces of being upset when he said, "Well, to answer your question, I wanted to see if I had a chance at getting your number."

' _Knew it'_. He felt flattered. It wasn't often that someone tried to hit on him. He figured it was the negative vibe he gave off, or so he'd been told that he gives off. "Good luck with that. There are only three people in this world who have my number."

"How." Deidara didn't say as a question, but as a dumbfounded statement.

Sasori shrugged. "I don't talk to many people. I don't want to, so-"He was interrupted by the plane's captain telling everyone that they were about to take off and should listen to the flight attendants giving their safety instructions speech. The two stayed quiet for duration of the instructions. Sasori, having been through the speech numerous times before, zoned it out. He practically knew the damned thing by heart, so he didn't feel the need to pay attention. However, that left his attention open to be dragged to the kid sitting next to him.

Without entirely meaning to he ended up staring at Deidara, somehow managing to memorize the curves and lines of his face and neck. He watched as Deidara curiously surveyed the first class cabin after the safety speeches were over.

"Have you ever been in first class before?" Sasori asked offhandedly.

"Nope, and I gotta say, it looks a lot better than coach. Like, look at these seats! Do they really have to be this fancy?" He rubbed the curved side of said seat. "It's ridiculous how fancy this is. I mean, there's a TV on the back of all the chairs. I'm seriously gonna hate coach going back." He spent a few minutes checking out everything around him, fiddling with the things that Sasori had gotten used to. "Do you fly like this every time?" Deidara inquired while pulling out the complementary eye-masks.

"Pretty much. My art studio pays for all my travel expenses, so I might as well."

The blond looked at him with what bordered shock and awe. "Dude." He murmured.

Sasori allowed himself to smirk. He was thoroughly enjoying the praise, even if it was sarcastic. He had to feed his ego somehow. "Why're you traveling?"

"Uh," He paused fidgeting with the tiny TVs to look back at him. "Family. They wanted to see me for the holidays and I'll take any excuse to fly." He absentmindedly played with a loose strand of hair. Sasori wondered briefly what it felt like, before chastising himself for thinking that. It would feel like hair; it would be nothing special. "Speaking of, why aren't you spending the holidays with your family, hmm?"

"They're dead." He said with no emotion.

Deidara looked down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Should've guessed you didn't, uh-"

"Stop right there. We're not going to do that."

Deidara began to braid the lose hair. "Do what?"

"The whole 'I'm-so-sorry-to-hear-that' apology thing that people go one and on about whenever I tell them about my family. I'm sick of hearing it."

"Oh." The blond didn't look at him for a few awkward minutes. Fortunately, the tension was cut by the flight attendant, who came over to offer drinks and snacks. Deidara's mood shifted instantaneously as he shameless flirted with them. They smiled and flirted back. Sasori felt a pang of jealousy for a brief moment and ended up not ordering anything.

"Not hungry, hmm?" The blond asked while munching on whatever the flight attendant gave him.

"I'm rarely hungry."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"You're strange, ya know that? Like, I've never met anyone like you."

"Thanks."

They talked for the rest of the flight. Sasori learned that Deidara was an only child,  _really_  enjoyed his "art", and would film it to later put online. Deidara casually mentioned that he had a fairly large fanbase and pouted when Sasori said that he'd never heard of him. Sasori told the blond all about his own art and the meaning behind it.

Deidara wasn't too thrilled with his view on art, stating, "But what's the point if it's eternal and never-changing?"

To which Sasori argued, "What's the point if it goes away before one can enjoy it?"

The argument ended when the couple behind them yelled to 'shut the fuck up' because 'some people are tryin' to fuckin' sleep'. Restraining the blond so that he wouldn't turn around and yell back at the stranger, Sasori apologized. It took a minute for Deidara to cool down and apologize himself. They mutually decided to change subjects.

Before long, the plane's captain interrupted Deidara's story about how he permanently burned off all the hair on his left arm ("There was wax  _everywhere_ , and my hand just would  _not_ come out of the coffee pot, so my friend Hidan grabbed the water bucket-") to inform everyone that they are about to land. Sasori was shocked, not realizing that they had been chatting for the entire duration of the flight. It definitely didn't feel like four hours to Sasori. Time seemed to fly by when he was with Deidara. He wondered if that was a good thing or not.

When they landed, Sasori made a move to get up, but Deidara didn't move. Instead, he sat in a  _how-on-earth-is-that-comfortable_  position consisting of both of his legs being vertical, pressing on the seat in front of him. Sasori pushed at the legs. They refused to budge.

He snapped, "Move your legs, we're leaving."

The blond calmly ignored his polite request. Instead, he made his own. "Give me your phone."

"Excuse me?" Sasori asked, not expecting that.

"Just give me your phone, damnit."

Not seeing the harm in it, Sasori begrudgingly pulled his phone out and handed it off. He watched with amusement as Deidara tried to guess his passcode.

"What's your password, hmm?"

"I'm not telling you." At the college kid's whine, he added, "Just give it here." He snatched up his phone, smirking internally at the pout Deidara gave him, defiantly not thinking it was adorable in any way because there was no way that  _Sasori Akasuna_ would think like that. He entered the passcode to his phone. Just as he was giving it back to Deidara, a notification popped up.  _'Seventeen missed calls? Who-_   _oh shit!'_ "I'm sorry, I've got to go. I'm late and  _shit."_ He was beyond late for his art expo, meaning if he didn't hurry they would cancel it.

He pushed past Deidara's legs to rush out of the plane, ignoring Deidara's cries from behind him and completely forgetting his carry on.


	3. On The Ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe posting this late at night is a bad idea, but I really don't wanna wait any longer! Welp, this is the last chapter! It's not as long as the other two, but that's alright seeing as this is mostly a wrap up of everything. Though, I hope you still enjoy it enough to check up on me in the future for more!

_'Why are there so many people at the damn airport!?'_ Sasori wondered as he ran into yet another group of oblivious tourists. They yelled something at his back while he scurried away. He assumed it was a rude insult, though he didn't care in the slightest. His mind was focused solely on that fact that he was running late, something that he  _rarely_  let happened. Sasori was  _nothing_  if not punctual.

It was a good thing he left when he did because when he reached the luggage carousel, it was already spinning with luggage spilling out. He spotted his bright red bag easily among the sea of darker colored baggage. Sasori grabbed it and hurried to one of the car rental booths, picking the only one with an empty counter. He hoped the string of good luck wouldn't run out before he'd get on the road or at the very least, get a decent car.

* * *

A strong wind howled against the compact car, trying its hardest to tip the damn thing over. Sasori wasn't going over the speed limit (by much), but he swore the tires left the ground when he went around corners.

He wasn't about to let that stop him from getting to his art show on time. He was so determined to get there as soon as he possibly could that he hadn't even bothered to check into his hotel yet. He would call when he got to the show to make sure he didn't lose his reservation. Although, that wouldn't matter much if he couldn't  _get_  there.

 _'I'm hitting every light possible.'_ At the fifth red light in a row, Sasori seriously considered running it. However, he knew with his luck some too-big-for-their-britches cop would pull him over, wasting even more of his precious time.

He impatiently drummed his fingers on the rubbery steering wheel, hoping for something to happen, preferably a green light.  _'C'mon already.'_

Sharp, shrill sounds emanated from his phone. Since he wasn't driving at the moment, he looked over at the phone lying on the dashboard. It displayed the name NAGATO is big letters along with a picture of the caller.

Sasori switched on speaker phone and greeted the man with an elegant, "You wanna tell me how many times you're planning on calling me today?"

"Well maybe if you picked up the phone once in a while I wouldn't have to call so many times. But don't worry; this'll be the last time today. I know you hate talking on the phone." He said, voice contorted by the phone's low quality speaker. "Anyway, I've got some news that interests you."

The light turned green when Sasori asked, "Good or bad?"

"Depends on how you look at it." Sasori heard distorted yelling in the background. He assumed it was one of Nagato's friends that he talks nonstop about.

"You and I both know that's the universal code for news I don't want to hear."

"Hush you, it's not that bad." More yelling came from the background, resulting in Nagato having to yell back. Sasori didn't react. "No, I'm afraid your art show's been pushed back. The weather's god awful and no one wants to be out in it. I can't blame them. Two totally different trees almost fell on my car this morning. It's crazy I tell ya." Sasori groaned, more at the news of his art show than at the car crushing trees. "Hey now, at least it's not canceled. Plus, you get a few days off to explore the city, a place I know you've never been to before. You know-"

"What's the new date?" Sasori interrupted, flashing his turn signal before peeling off of the highway.

"Uh," Sasori heard Nagato shuffled some papers around before saying, "Should be sometime this weekend. I still have to work out the small details. Someone has a show planned on Saturday, but I'm sure I can get that spot for you. If not, you'll have to do it Monday. Oh well."

"Thanks, Nagato."

"You're welcome, buddy. Enjoy your Wednesday." A few shouts crackled through the phone's speaker. "Oh, and Yahiko wants you to know he's really excited to see you again."

"Hmm, tell him thank you." He quickly tapped 'end call' before Nagato could continue talking. Sasori knew from experience that if he didn't stop him, he'd go on for hours. It wasn't so much annoying as it was pointless. Sasori got the information he needed so everything else was wasted breath, to him at least.

Sasori pulled into the first parking lot he came across. He needed to take a few minutes to form a new plan.  _'Alright, at this point the best option would be to head over to the hotel. Where was it again?'_ He tapped the screen of his phone to put in his destination when a thought slowly crept up.

Deidara never got the chance to give him his number.

The realization left him with a weird feeling, a sort of weird feeling that was disconnected with the spectrum of good weirds. His stomach felt like it had sat nonstop in a taffy puller for hours on end, leaving it in a tangled mess too uncomfortable to even think about.

' _The hell is wrong with me?'_ He should not care about something as meaningless as not getting some _stranger's_ phone number. He knew Deidara for five- maybe six hours, six  _tolerable_  hours. Yet that fact didn't stop the bitter disappointment from settling into his bones.

As shocking as it was to him, he actually missed being around Deidara. The dumb kid wasn't half bad to be around. Despite the airs Sasori put on, he enjoyed the other's company, which is much more than he can say for anyone else he knew. Plus, Deidara seemed to enjoy being around him as well; also something a very minute amount people can say.

"Huh."

The digital clock on the dashboard blinked away as Sasori let himself slip into deep thought. With crossed arms, a scowl on his face, and seven minutes to eleven, he came to the (reluctant) conclusion that ditching Deidara was all in all, for the best. Sasori didn't need any more people in his life. The last thing he needed was a broke, collage kid hanging around him.

A small part of his brain piped up,  _'You and I both know you miss him_.'

"Oh, shut it. You're being a melodramatic baby. Just drive to the dumb hotel already and leave this in the past,  _where it belongs_. Look at it this way, there's no way the day can get any worse." Sasori programmed the GPS on his phone, back the car up, and drove in silence, the wind still brutal.

At eleven, he pulled into an open space on the side of the hotel. He hoped out, popping open the trunk to grab his luggage. He reached for his bag, but his hand hit empty air.  _'Where is my bag? Is it somewhere else in the car?'_ He desperately scavenged the interior, finding absolutely nothing.

' _Don't tell me I left it on the plane.'_ He tore up the inside of the rental car before he was forced to come to the conclusion that yes, he did.

The discovery left him in an 'I hate everything and everyone in the world' mood. Which was very unfortunate for the poor person working the front desk seeing as Sasori was none too kind when asking for his room. He'd pay for that later, he was sure.

He grumbled about nothing the elevator ride up to the fourth floor. His suitcase rolled smoothly behind as he searched the hall for room 413. Once he found it and stepped inside, the first thing Sasori did was set his suitcase on the kind-sized bed. He yawned rather loudly and opened the suitcase in pursuit of his pajamas. He needed a nap so he could restart the shitty day.

It didn't hit him until he was half way through the bag that something wasn't right. Unless he forgot he packed vibrant t-shirts, fingerless gloves, and pants a size too small, he had grabbed the wrong suitcase.

"Son of a  _bitch_." He uttered in defeat. This was just  _perfect._ Now he would have to call the owner of this bag to come get it  **and**  hope someone calls him about his own. The only thing he had left with him was his phone, which was currently in use as Sasori dialed the number of the suitcases' owner.

The shrill ring went off four times before someone finally picked up. "I'm assuming because I don't recognize the number that you're the one you took my bag, hmm."

_"Deidara?"_

"Danna!?"

"How the-"

"Dude, this is great! You ran off so quick and left your shit on the plane, so I grabbed it for you. But I, uh, had no idea how to actually get it  _to_ you."

"This is crazy, is what it is. The chances of this happening are-"

"Ah, who cares? This is fantastic! Of all the people to grab my bag! Speaking of, I think I have yours." Deidara continued to babble excitedly about how they'll have to meet up soon and now they can contact each other whenever. Sasori listened with a soft smile.

' _Maybe today isn't going to be that bad.'_


End file.
